Pipe inhaler

ABSTRACT

An inhaler including a flexible mask which is adapted to be inserted over the nose and mouth of the user and fits snugly against the face so that the smoke from a pipe can be inhaled. The pipe has an auxiliary air inlet whereby the amount of air being inhaled along with the smoke can be varied.

i United States Patent, 11 1 1 11 3,815,597 Goettelman 4 June 11, 1974[54] PIPE INHALER 1,998,327 4/1935, McGuire 128/192 Inventor: William E.Goettelman, 2011 E 2,637,327 5/1953 Nadelson 131/220 Park p1 Milwaukee,5 32 1 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 21,934 I 6/1905 Austria 128/201[22] 1972 421,708 12/1934 Great Britain 128/192 [21] Appl. No.: 309,512

. Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-Henry J. ReclaCCll. Attorney, Agwu or Firm james E Nines [58] Field of Search 128/196.195, 197. 208,

128/209, 2.10, 2 01, 192, 205; 131/220, 204. 1 ABSTRACT 7 198 R, 186 Aninhaler including a flexible mask which is adapted to be inserted overthe nose and mouth of the user and [56] References Cited fits snuglyagainst the face so that the smoke from a UNITED STATES PATENTS pipe canbe inhaled. The pipe has an auxiliary air inlet 533 127 H1895 H t128/196 whereby the amount of air being inhaled along with or on 756,3544/1904 Goldan 128/195 Smoke can be vaned' l,505,096 8/1924 lvory 131/198R 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUNH I974.

SHEET 10? 3 FIG. 2

PATENTEUJUN H mm 3.1315597 SHEET 2 BF 3 FIG. 5

FIG. 4

PAIENTEDJ N 1 1914 3315597 SHEEI 30F 3 PIPE INHALER BACKGROUND OFTl-IEINVENTION SUMMARY 'OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides apipe inhaler including a flexible facefmask portion which is preferablymade of plastic and which is adapted to fit snugly over the nose andmouth of the userL-The mask includes a one-way valve that isautomatically closed to preventreturn of the smoke to the pipe to whichthe mask is attached. The mask is formedof plastic, flexible materialand its edges are tapered to a narrow edge whereby the mask can beslipped easily over the nose and mouth of the user and fit snugly overthe face. The pipe to which the mask is attached by means of a curvedconduit has a ceramic lined bowl having a screen across the bottom ofthe bowl to prevent fragments from the material being smoked from beingdrawn into the conduit. An auxiliary air supply is provided in the pipebowl whereby the user can shut off the auxiliary air into the conduit bymeans of placing his finger over an auxiliary air opening, thusregulating the amount of air being combined with the smoke when drawninto the mask.

These and other objects and advantages of the present'invention willappear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of apipeinhaler embodying the present invention; I v

FIG. 2' is a left side view of the pipe shown in FIG. 1, but certainparts shown as broken away or in section for thesake of clarity andfurthermore showing an outline of the face of the user when the mask hasbeen applied to the face;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the pipe inhaler as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the pipe inhaler;

FIG. 5 is a right side view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the pipe inhaler and showing the auxiliary airopening;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the inhaler taken generally from thefront left side thereof; and

FIG. 8 is another perspective view taken generally from the rear leftside thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The pipe inhaler shown in thedrawing includes a pipe P preferably made of wood and having a bowl 1lined with a ceramic material 2, or the like. A screen 3 is molded intothe ceramic adjacent the bottom of the bowl and a passage 4 extendsdownwardly into communication with a chamber '5 in the bottom of thepipe P. An auxiliary air opening 6 is located in the back of the pipeand places the chamber 5 in communication with the outside of the pipe.A'curved conduit 7 preferably made of plastic material is inserted intothe chamber 5 so as to form a tight fit therewith. The upper, backwardlycurved portion 7a of the conduit 7 is adapted to be inserted snugly inan inlet portion 8 of the mask M.

The mask M is formed of flexible plastic material and has a narrow upperportion 10 which'fits snugly against the bridge 11 of the users face.The mask has a lower portion 12, which is relatively wide and titstightly against the front. side of the chin of the user-and below themouth. The two sides 13 and 14 of the mask are flared outwardly in atransverse direction, and are relatively wide so as to fit firmlyagainst the face of the user. Thus the mask when pressed against theface forms sealing engagement with the face. The outermost edges 16extending around the mask are tapered to a very narrow edge so as toprovide good flexibility and sealing contact, with the face.

A one-way'valve' 20 is provided inside the mask and adjacent the inlet 8of the mask. The'valve 20 is circular in shape and is fastened atonesmall-location 21 to the shoulder 22 adjacent the inlet end of theconduit portion 7a. Thus when the user inhales the smoke coming from thepipe P, the valve 20 lifts so as topermit ingress of smoke. Any exhalingby the user when the mask is on acts to close the valve 20 and preventsmoke return to the pipe. When the device is used, first the ingredientsare placed in the bowl 2, then lit and the user then holds his fingerover the auxiliary air inlet 6 so as to cause the material to ignitereadily. After thematerial has become ignited, the hole'6 may be openedto permit air tobe drawn into the mask along with the smoke.Occasionally, the user may wish to cut off the air supply and this canbe done easily by placing his fmger over the air inlet 6.

Thus, the present invention provides a simple and economically producedpipe inhaler which can be readily applied to the user in a'veryefficient-manner. The mask fits snugly against the face of the userwithout any particular adjustment or fittings. The burning mixture inthe pipe can be mixed with any amount of air as desired by the user andsimply by means of the auxiliary air inlet. The screen in the bowlprevents any inhalation of solid material and insures complete burningof the material.

I claim:

1. A portable pipe-inhaler comprising: a pipe having a bowl made of heatresistant material for burning material therein, said pipe being adaptedto beheld in one hand, a heat resistant metallic screen across the lowerend of said bowl to prevent inhaling of said material, a rigid curvedconduit extending from and in communication with said bowl adjacent thelower end thereof and below said screen, an auxiliary air inlet in saidbowl and communicating with said conduit, said auxiliary inlet having anopening located in a position to be closed or opened bythe user, aflexible mask attached to an opposite end of said conduit andplacingsaid .mask in communication with said bowl, said conduit beingcurved sufficiently to locate said mask above said .bowl and at aposition where its user can observe the inlet portion secured to saidconduit, and .a flat flexible flap hingedly secured to one side of saidmask inlet to form a one-way valve in said inlet portion to limit thedirection of flow through said conduit, said mask also including anupper, transversely narrow portion, a lower relatively wider transverseportion, and opposite side portions merging with said narrow portion andsaid wider portion so as to form an'opening in which the face of a usercan be inserted, the edge around said opening being flexible so as toabut in sealing engagement withvthe face of the user.

2. The pipe inhaler as set forth in claim 1 further characterized inthat said mask side portions are formed as transversely extending,flange-like sides which abut against the face of the user.

3. A portable pipe inhaler comprising: a pipe having a bowl made of heatresistant material for burning material therein, a metallic heatresistant screen across the lower end of said bowl, a rigid conduitextending from and in communication with said bowl adjacent the lowerend thereof and below said screen, said conduit having a section curvedat an acute angle to said conduit, an auxiliary air inlet in said bowland communicating with said conduit, a flexible mask attached to anopposite end of said curved section and placing said mask incommunication with said bowl, said mask being disposed at a positionabove and facing said bowl so that the user can observe the interior ofthe bowl when the mask is placed against the face, said flexible maskincluding an inlet portion secured to said conduit, and a one-way valveincluding a flat flexible disc hingedly secured adjacent one side tosaid mask and extending over said conduit end to provide flow into saidmask and prevent flow from said mask into said conduit, said mask alsoincluding an upper transversely narrow portion, a lower relatively widertransverse portion, and opposite side portions having flange-like sideswhich abut against the face of the user, said side portions merging withsaid narrow portion and said wider portion so as to form an opening inwhich the face of a user can be inserted, the edge around said openingbeing flexible so as to abut in sealing engagement with the face of theuser.

1. A portable pipe inhaler comprising: a pipe having a bowl made of heatresistant material for burning material therein, said pipe being adaptedto be held in one hand, a heat resistant metallic screen across thelower end of said bowl to prevent inhaling of said material, a rigidcurved conduit extending from and in communication with said bowladjacent the lower end thereof and below said screen, an auxiliary airinlet in said bowl and communicating with said conduit, said auxiliaryinlet having an opening located in a position to be closed or opened bythe user, a flexible mask attached to an opposite end of said conduitand placing said mask in communication with said bowl, said conduitbeing curved sufficiently to locate said mask above said bowl and at aposition where its user can observe the interior of said bowl when saidmask is placed against the face of the user, said flexible maskincluding an inlet portion secured to said conduit, and a flat flexibleflap hingedly secured to one side of said mask inlet to form a one-wayvalve in said inlet portion to limit the direction of flow through saidconduit, said mask also including an upper, transversely narrow portion,a lower relatively wider transverse portion, and opposite side portionsmerging with said narrow portion and said wider portion so as to form anopening in which the face of a user can be inserted, the edge aroundsaid opening being flexible so as to abut in sealing engagement with theface of the user.
 2. The pipe inhaler as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said mask side portions are formed as transverselyextending, flange-like sides which abut against the face of the user. 3.A portable pipe inhaler comprising: a pipe haviNg a bowl made of heatresistant material for burning material therein, a metallic heatresistant screen across the lower end of said bowl, a rigid conduitextending from and in communication with said bowl adjacent the lowerend thereof and below said screen, said conduit having a section curvedat an acute angle to said conduit, an auxiliary air inlet in said bowland communicating with said conduit, a flexible mask attached to anopposite end of said curved section and placing said mask incommunication with said bowl, said mask being disposed at a positionabove and facing said bowl so that the user can observe the interior ofthe bowl when the mask is placed against the face, said flexible maskincluding an inlet portion secured to said conduit, and a one-way valveincluding a flat flexible disc hingedly secured adjacent one side tosaid mask and extending over said conduit end to provide flow into saidmask and prevent flow from said mask into said conduit, said mask alsoincluding an upper transversely narrow portion, a lower relatively widertransverse portion, and opposite side portions having flange-like sideswhich abut against the face of the user, said side portions merging withsaid narrow portion and said wider portion so as to form an opening inwhich the face of a user can be inserted, the edge around said openingbeing flexible so as to abut in sealing engagement with the face of theuser.